I’ve been going to the gym for 6 years now and the biggest lesson I learnt was not just to do cardio. For years I just did cardio and didn’t touch weights because I assumed cardio was the only way of burning fat and that weights would just make me big and bulky.

The truth is combining cardio and weights is the most effective way to lose weight and gives more variety to your workout and means you get toned as well as just losing weight.

@jpbee: I am assuming you use dumbbells? If so, how much? (2lbs, 5lbs?) and how do you use them? I don’t know the name of the exercises I am thinking in my head. ANd if I try to descibe them, it might not make sense lol

Yes I use dumbbells for arm weights. I currently use 4kg and 5 kg, I use the 4kg for the ones I find harder and the 5kg for the easier exercises.

I do a few different movements, I’m not sure what the official names are so I’ve made them up:

– Curls – I start with the 1 weight in each hand at my side and curl them up to my shoulders bending my elbows.

– Lifts – I hold one weight in my left hand and then lift it from my shoulder up into the air and repeat several times (then do the same with my right arm)

– Front lifts – With one weight in each hand at my front i lift them up with my arms straight out in front my me, I hold for a few seconds then lower.

– Side lifts – With one weight in each hand at my side I lift my arms up straight at my sides and hold for a few seconds then lower.

(It is really hard describing them in words lol!)

As a PP said the gym will hopefully give you an induction and give you some exercises to start with. I find the staff in the gym really helpful and willing to give me new exercise ideas. You have to pay for propper personal training but just asking the odd question or asking for a few suggestions isn’t usually a problem : )

@jpbee: To tone up you want low weights and high reps, that means doing 20-25 reps or more at a time then resting for 30-60 seconds. Depending on your strength and endurance, you may need to lower your current weight to increase the reps. I noticed you didn’t list any core or lower body exercises and you definitely want to work your entire body with weights.

Calisthenics are also good for toning up and they require 0 equipment since you use your body weight as resistance.

@Daizy914: just remember that weightloss is 80% diet and 20% exercise so if you want to drop weight make sure you are eating right and watching your calorie intake. The my fitness pal app is good for this. To burn calories in the gym the best activity is high intensity interval training combined with weights. So that means short explosive bursts of activity repeated. I lost over 50 pounds doing this in around 7 months so it really works. Since then I’ve focused on toning more so my regime has changed to a more weights based one. The more muscle you build the more calories your body will burn each day so don’t be afraid of doing weights!

@Daizy914: First, this 80/20 number is not one I have ever heard, or read, and my initial reaction is that it is quite misleading, and potentially dangerous. It could send your brain into “scarce food” mode, which will cause you to GAIN weight, and can lead to an unhealthy diet. 50+ lbs in 7 months (28 weeks) is borderline unsafe. The fastest you should be losing weight is 1.5 lbs/week, which would be 46 lbs in 28 weeks. That is the MOST you should lose in that period.

Patience is really key. You want to change your lifestyle to a healthier one, permanently. It truly is as simple as eat right and exercise. Resistance training is a good thing to work in, for many reasons. It will the your muscles. It will build bone density, which Staves off osteoporosis. It promotes healthy insulin production. If it becomes a lifestyle change, it will vastly improve your quality of life as you age; tasks like taking down heavy objects from shelves, opening jars, and climbing stairs will remain simple and routine, rather than becoming laborious and daunting later in life. This, in turn, Willie exercise easier, and more enjoyable, which will make it easier to stay healthy. Keep it to low weights, high reps, or incorporate handheld weights into other exercises like zoomba, or whatever.

Pilates and yoga have resistance training elements and many, many health benefits.

If you like the treadmill and the elliptical, make them staples. Nothing is more crucial to any exercise plan than continuing to exercise! So, when somethingfood for you feels good, keep doing it! On that same note, try all the options, and classes, and exercises you can, to find the ones you like. Variety is good. Continuity is good.

Finally, I have two main pieces of advice, and these are both scientifically supported. First, remember the FIT principle: Frequency, Intensity, Time. Exercising as often as possible is the most important. The intensity of your workout is second. The length of your workout is last. Working out for 12 minutes, 6 days/week is better than working out for 90 minutes twice per week. Start by building up your number of regular gym days. Then, once you are at the peak (5 or 6 days/week), increase the intensity if your training. Only then should you be concerned about how long you spend working out. Do your best not to miss any gym days. Even if you only work out for 5 minutes, that’s immeasurably better than skipping. So, n the days you don’t want to go, make yourself go and spend five minutes on the elliptical. Often you’ll stay longer. Sometimes you will go “k did my 5, now I’m out.” both are good for you

I have forgotten the second, but that’s the beers fault. I will come back when I remember it.

@Daizy914: If you enjoy the elliptical or treadmill then definitely make sure to use them as it’s important to do things you like.

I would, however, also incorportate full body free-weights strength training. Low weight-high rep work will only increase your muscular endurance (like running does), but high weight-low rep work will increase your muscular strength and give you a much more defined look.

Useful sources are stronglifts or new rules of lifting for women, I personally particularly like NRLW because it has a lot of interesting background info, but stronglifts is easy and available online.

Don’t worry about putting on lots of muscle and looking like a man – you don’t have the testosterone to do so. I lift heavy weights and I most frequently get described as ‘tiny’, definitely not ‘bulky’!

@Duncan: it’s one commonly quoted by leading nutritionists and fitness experts in Australia, including Michelle Bridges. You cannot outtrain a bad diet to lose weight – there is no point thrashing yourself at the gym and then indulging in high calorie but low nutrition stuff. And how does watching what you eat send your body into starvation mode? Watching what you eat does not mean cutting your calories to a ridiculously low level (you should not go below 1200 as a female when attempting weightloss). I lost my weight very healthily by eating right and working out – less than a kilo a week on average which is considered very sustainable – in fact it is exactly 1.5 pounds a week!. September 12 through to the end of March 13 is when i lost the weight, 31 weeks. I do not believe in dieting or quick fixes, I believe in making a healthy lifestyle change that is something you can keep up for life. you can leave your judgements about my personal experience out thank you.

@Lollybags: Reducing your caloric intake sends the signal to your brain, potentially, thatfood is scarce, triggering an evolutionary response to store energy. You cannot apply a single minimum number to women as a group. Not one exercise physiologist I have ever met has mentoned this 80/20 concept. Nutritionists are not trainers, and, in much of the world, are the unregulated black sheep version of dieticians. You can also see,easily, how that perception would be beneficial to those promoting it, in this case. Eating properly is nt the same as calorie counting, and few respected trainers counsel calorie counting anymore. Good trainers simply have their athletes, or clients, eat good food, and monitor lean body mass.

What I shared is my professional opinion, which is based in scientifically founded fact. Anecdotaex evidence is viewed with severe skepticism, and for good reason. Popular theories are frequently baseless, and are the scourge of the responsible side of the fitness industry. As you will see, I openly shared my professional credentials. Your post is anonymous, and sprinkled with populist hokum. And, for clarity, what we call kinesiology in north America is called sport science ir exercuse sciebnce in Australia. Fom my ime working in NSW as a guest coach, I understand that kinesiology means something different there.

@Duncan: i am friends with qualified nutritionists and dietitians (4 year uni degrees, plus honours and PhDs) that disagree with you and Michelle Bridges is a trainer. There is an Dietitians Association of Australia that also provides accreditation so it is not a unregulated area here. Being aware of the calories that are in certain types of food is vital so you can recognise what you should/should not be eating and so you know how much fuel your body is getting, if it is enough etc. It does not mean you need to obsessively track every thing you eat but most people these days do not know how much they should be eating and appropriate portion sizes so it is important to get educated. We have gotten used to massive portion sizes in the Western world at restaurants and homes. I am insulin resistant thanks to my genetics so unfortunately this is an area that I have had to become educated in and seek professional opinion on. I am not sure how eating well, not over indulging in too much food and doing interval training/weights as I suggested constitutes a baseless, popular theory? That is the essence of weight loss (baring any other medical issues etc.) and the most sensible way to go about it! Are you suggesting that a female who wishes to loose weight and, for example is eating over 2500 calories a day, should not reduce their calories at all? I never suggested drastic restriction of calories, crappy diet shakes, running a marathon every day, a 7 day soup diet or whatever. That is my definition of hokum.

@Duncan: I think there are some typos in your post which are making it difficult to understand. Are you saying women can or cannot add bulk? I understand that water retention in muscles happens when they’re healing after a session, but (obviously in my personal experience) even if I don’t exercise for a bit, presumably giving time for the water retention to end, I clearly still have more muscle than before I started lifting.